DED to introduce D-U-N-S numbering to enhance international opportunities for local companies

This initiative will introduce an internationally recognized corporate identifier, which will function like a globally-enabled trade licence number. The DED is the first government department in the region to distribute this value-added service to all the companies registered in Dubai.

The announcement was made at a business breakfast hosted by the Department for business leaders, spanning all segments from the private sector. This initiative is in accordance with the mandate of the Department to create the appropriate environment for investors and encourage local and foreign investments in commercial and industrial projects.

The Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) D-U-N-S® Number is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for recognising businesses worldwide. It is expected to enhance the credibility of a business in the marketplace by providing valuable information about those companies, thereby enabling opportunities for further expansion into the international market.

"As we move towards complete integration with the WTO, it becomes increasingly important to further the reach of Dubai-based companies in the international business arena," said Mr.Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General, DED. "The D-U-N-S number will raise the visibility of local companies by enabling potential customers and suppliers to easily identify local businesses," he added.

Mr. Ibrahim further said: "In today's e-commerce marketplace, where trust is a key factor in everyone's decision process and as cross-border trade becomes a more significant aspect of our economy, an internationally recognized business identifier like the D-U-N-S Number offers an excellent solution."

"Many governments and major corporations have made the D-U-N-S Number a mandatory requirement for their suppliers and contractors. We aim to offer this value added service to Dubai-based companies by providing them with this numbering at no cost so that they will not be at a disadvantage while dealing with international organizations," he added.

The Data Universal Numbering System or D-U-N-S Number is a proprietary system created by D&B in 1962 as a means of identifying business entities. It is often a mandatory requirement for vendor pre-qualification by governments and major global corporations including the United Nations, the US Government, the European Commission, the Australian Government, the International Standards Organisation and more than 50 global industry and trade associations. Currently, about 95 million companies worldwide are D-U-N-S Numbered, many of which are from the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) segment.

The D-U-N-S Number automatically ensures a listing on the D&B website, which is one of the most visited B-2-B portals worldwide, thereby linking the company to a wealth of quality global information products and services.

"The listing will increase the potential of new opportunities to present themselves to our local companies by facilitating their interactions with prospective international trading partners. It can also enable the company to take advantage of new automated transaction technologies," Mr. Ibrahim added.

The D-U-N-S number is unique to each business as no two businesses receive the same number and the numbers are never recycled. It is retained through the life of a business even when the company moves its physical location. Every business is validated before inclusion in the D&B database and the Data elements provided in application form are verified by D&B.

In addition to propelling the local companies on to the global market place, the D-U-N-S number is expected to bring several advantages for businesses including identifying cross-selling opportunities within the same corporate "family and streamlining and simplifying e-commerce communications.